Dan Monnat has more than 40 years of experience providing high-quality defense representation to clients throughout the state of Kansas who have been charged with state or federal misdemeanors or felonies. The co-founder of Wichita-based Monnat & Spurrier, he has achieved favorable results for his clients in a number of high-profile white collar cases involving money laundering, conspiracy and bank fraud, and he has also represented people who have been charged with murder and other violent crimes as well as with drug possession and trafficking. In one notable case, Mr. Monnat obtained a dismissal of all federal charges of conspiracy, fraud and racketeering on the grounds that the statute was unconstitutionally vague.

A 1973 cum laude graduate of San Francisco State University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in English, Mr. Monnat obtained his legal education at Creighton University School of Law and was awarded his Juris Doctor in 1976. He is admitted to practice in Kansas and Nebraska, and he is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Monnat is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the Litigation Counsel of America, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has provided commentary on criminal defense topics on such broadcasts as CBS Morning News and "The Today Show." Mr. Monnat has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for nearly three decades, and he has received an AV Preeminent* peer review rating through Martindale-Hubbell and a 10.0 "Superb" peer review rating through Avvo. He is a past president of the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.

Monnat & Spurrier, Chartered, contributes to financial scholarships for attendees to the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer’s College. Dan Monnat contributes to the trial lawyers community, at the local, state, and national level, through his continuing legal education presentations, published articles on criminal law, and service on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and on the Executive Committee of the Kansas Association for Justice.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

How to Free a 'Guilty' Client by Arguing Entrapment by Estoppel, by Daniel E. Monnat and Paige A. Nichols. Discusses the often ignored common law and due process defense of "entrapment by estoppel" applicable when an official advises the accused that conduct is legal and the accused reasonably believes the official, The Champion, 2010

Lessons in Life and Litigation from the Tragic Acquittal of Dr. George Tiller, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, "Winning Trial Techniques," Aspen, Colorado, 2010

Most criminal-defense lawyers have a story to tell of a client who inspired them to take up or carry on the challenging work of defending. We’ve been telling these stories a lot this year, both in celebration of the golden anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, and to commemorate the lifework of Anthony Lewis, the great journalist who died this year after decades of giving voice to the powerless within our justice system. But we too often only tell these stories to each other — preaching to the choir, as they say. As public and private defenders, we offer this article to share with you, our other colleagues, why it is that you may find us so stubborn, obnoxious, and, yes, defensive, while representing our clients in the heat of trial or promoting their interests on the legislative floor. We offer this rather personal article in the spirit of collegiality, and in the hopes of contributing to a deeper appreciation of how a passionate commitment to criminal-defense work helps keep us all safe from injustice., Why Criminal-Defense Lawyers Love Their Work (And You Should Too), Kansas Association for Justice Journal, 2013

Can I Get A Witness reviews some of the more quotidian aspects of witness management and offers a few basic reminders to help counsel avoid potential pitfalls when it comes to subpoenas, witness reimbursement, and witness sequestration., Can I Get a Witness, Kansas Association for Justice Journal, 2014

Defending The Accused before the Jury: Basics and Beyond. ThisCLE presentation by American College of Trial Lawyers Fellow Dan Monnat walks attendees through defending the accused from jury selection through closing argument., Wichita Bar Association, 2015

Technology for Litigators: Pointing and Clicking Our Way Through Trial focuses on the uses of technology directly related to trial practice. For instance, in what ways are we allowed -- or perhaps required -- to use social media to aid our pretrial investigations of jurors and witnesses? And what technologies might we be allowed or required to use in the courtroom?, Technology for Litigators: Pointing and Clicking Our Way Through Trial, Kansas Association for Justice Journal, 2015

Motion to Suppress Practicalities: Not Getting the Defense Thrown Out on Technicalities, New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, “The Four Corners of Criminal Practice,” Utica, New York, October 2000

Kung Fu Strategies and the Art of Trial, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, “Defense Magic for the Millennium,” New Orleans, Louisiana, February 2000

Motions to Suppress at the Millennium: Staying in the Ring, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, “Advocacy Techniques – A Masters’ Course,” San Francisco, California, April 1999

Preparation and Cross-Examination in Dog Sniff Cases, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, “Cross-Examination: How to Get What You Need,” Denver, Colorado, August 1998

You’re In Alice’s Wonderland: How to Defend Your Client in the Nonsense World of Drug Testing, Wichita Bar Association, “The Science of Family Law,” Wichita, Kansas, December 1997

From Cover to Content: The 21st Century Tips For Appellate Briefing demonstrates that appellate brriefs are about more than sound legal arguments, they are about sound writing, visually attractive presentation, and paying microscopic attention to every detail of the Court’s rules. We’ve all heard the adage, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’ But justices are human and the reality is that a visually attractive and well-packaged document is going to get a better, more thorough read than one that is presented in bad format, font or design., From Cover to Content: The 21st Century Tips For Appellate Briefing, NACDL - The Champion, 2017

Discussing the interpretation of the Kansas Constitution that gives privacy protection to open fields, Oh Give Me A Home, Where the Government Can't Roam: Interpreting the Kansas Constitution to Protect , Journal of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, 1994

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Kung Fu Strategies of the East for Courtoom Battles in the Wild, Wild West, Southwest Kansas Bar Association Annual Meeting Lecture. Through storytelling and physical interpretation, Dan Monnat and Grace X. Wu-Monnat offer unique strategies for winning in court. This exciting CLE presentation combines the creative trial skills Dan Monnat developed over a 35 year career as a criminal defense attorney with the wisdom and fighting skills of the internationally renowned Chinese martial artist Grace X. Wu-Monnat. Born in Shanghai, China, to an ancestry rich in the martial arts tradition, at age three, Grace began training with one of the most famous martial artists -- her grandfather, Grandmaster Wang Ziping. Besides operating the Grace Wu Kung Fu School, Grace has regularly served as a strategist and trial consultant. This talk includes live martial arts demonstrations and a presentation referencing everything from recent United States Supreme Court decisions to Sun Tzu's The Art of War to The Tao Te Ching, 2010

The High Profile Case and the Unpopular Client, Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association Lecture. Strategies for representing the high profile, unpopular client in a criminal case, both pre-trial and at trial, 2009

Crawford: Past, Present, and Future, Joint Judicial Conference and 2009 KBA Annual Meeting Lecture. A discussion of the United States Supreme Court decision in Crawford v. Washington as modified in the Davis and Hamon cases, 2009

Oops! He Did it Again: The Britney Spears Defense in the Case of the Untruthful Child, Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Fall CLE Lecture. A discussion of the necessary pre-trial techniques for the defense of a false accusation of child sexual molestation, 2008

Narcotics Detection Dogs: Putting on Your Own Dog and Pony Show, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), 2008 Aspen Legal Seminar Lecture. A discussion of the frailties of canine alerts in the detection of drugs and the Fourth Amendment implications, 2008

Time and again the Kansas Supreme Court has acknowledged its authority to interpret our Kansas Constitution in a manner different than the United States Constitution has been construed, and yet the Court has not traditionally done so. This article aims to promote state constitutionalism in Kansas, and to offer a few tools and cautionary notes to those lawyers and courts who wish once again to see “Kansas at this time place herself proudly and firmly upon the ancient doctrine of State rights", The Loneliness of the Kansas Constitution, Kansas Association for Justice Journal, 2010

State of Kansas v. Richardson,Reno County Case No. 03 CR 6, January 22, 2004 jury verdict of “not guilty” of aggravated battery and aggravated assault where client accused of using his Lexus to threaten and run over the alleged victim in a nightclub parking lot, 2004

United States v. Phillips (local counsel), 1996 WL 432377 (D. Kan. 1996), federal drug case, suppression of 40 lbs. of marijuana and 1 lb. of cocaine found in a vehicle during a traffic stop, 1996

State of Kansas v. Mars, Cowley County Case No. 92-CR212-A, jury verdict of "not guilty" of all charges arising from alleged arson of client's residence, 1992

State of Kansas v. Anguiano, Seward County Case No. 93 CR 246, jury verdict of "not guilty" of all charges arising from client's alleged conspiracy to possess with intent to sell 40 lbs. of marijuana, 1993

State of Kansas v. Ralls, Sumner County Case No. 99 CR 90, October 29, 1999 jury verdict of "not guilty" of all charges of rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child against three alleged victims, 1999

State of Kansas v. Floyd (“Floyd II”), Stanton Co. Ks. Case No. 06 CR 17. On November 24, 2008, all charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder dismissed without prejudice after hung jury on April 18, 2008 in second three-week jury trial, 2008

State of Kansas v. Puetz, No. 11 CR 3188 (Sedgwick County, Kan. Dist. Ct. 2013): Jury verdicts of “not guilty” for high school football coach on charges of attempted aggravated indecent liberties with a child and attempted criminal sodomy arising from undercover Internet sex sting. Jury deadlocked on remaining charge of electronic solicitation of a child, which State thereafter reduced to misdemeanor charge of patronizing an adult prostitute in exchange for defendant’s “Alford” plea (i.e. “innocent but pleading guilty to take advantage of plea offer”). What began as a multiple felony case with risk of over ten-year sentence, lifetime sex-offender registration, and lifetime postrelease supervision resolved with Class C (i.e. lowest) misdemeanor conviction, no registration, no probation, and no sentence., 2013

State of Kansas v. Floyd (“Floyd I”), Stanton Co. Ks. Case No. 06 CR 17. On July 30, 2007, hung jury on all charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder after a three-week trial, 2007

United States v. Hall, 20 F.3d 1084 (10th Cir. 1994), the federal appeals court affirmance of the trial court's granting of defendant's pretrial motion to dismiss a charge of using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, based on insufficiency of the evidence. , 1994

State of Kansas v. Jonker, Sedgwick County Case No. 02 CR 1409, December 6, 2002 jury verdict of "not guilty" of four counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child against two alleged victims, 2002

United States v. Gerber, 1989 WL 115984 (D. Kan. 1989), federal drug case, motion to suppress was sustained and an indoor marijuana growing operation suppressed because of the officers' failure to wait a sufficient amount of time between announcement and forced entry while executing a valid federal search warrant, 1989

State v. ______, 281 Kan. 392 (2006), Kansas Supreme Court's complete reversal of client's rape conviction and 20 year sentence because of prosecutor's misconduct in defining the crime to the jury. Client released from penitentiary, 2006

State of Kansas v. Burris, Sedgwick County Case No. 00 TR 786 (June 6, 2000), jury verdict of "not guilty" on Driving Under the Influence charges where driver with .143 intoxilyzer reading accused of backing into State Trooper's vehicle during speeding stop on Christmas Eve; driver convicted of speeding and no seat belt, 2000

United States v. Guidry, Case No. 97-10162-MLB (D. Kan. June 17, 1998, unpublished), "not guilty" on 16 counts of federal bank fraud and money laundering stemming from defendant's embezzlement of $2.6 million from her employer; convicted on 3 counts of false statements on tax returns, 1998

United States v. Hall, No. 08–10208–01, 2010 WL 5137499 (D. Kan. 2010): Trial judge dismissed all federal charges of conspiracy, racketeering, money laundering, and fraud on grounds that statutes and regulations underlying charges against tobacco wholesaler were unconstitutionally vague as interpreted by the government and applied to client. , 2010

State of Kansas v. Cunningham, No. 13 CR 29 (Ford County, Kan. Dist. Ct. Aug. 24, 2015): Jury verdict of “not guilty” on all charges of first degree murder and child abuse after two week trial involving extensive medical and biomechanical testimony where client accused of intentionally cruelly beating or shaking nearly four year old child to death., 2015

State of Kansas v. Shanklin, Sedgwick County Case No. 98 CR 108, July 23, 1998 jury verdict of "not guilty" of first degree murder and all other charges arising from an alleged drive-by shooting, 1998

United States v. Lambert, 46 F.3d 1064 (10th Cir. 1995), federal appellate court's complete reversal of defendant's convictions and ten-year sentence for possession with intent to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine, holding the defendant's nervousness in airport coupled with quick exit did not establish reasonable suspicion for defendant's detention, 1995

CBS 48 Hours: Justice in the Heartland. A CBS primetime special which details two separate, three-week murder trials of Chad and Shannon Floyd, a western Kansas couple. Both trials ended in a hung jury. In April 2008, all charges of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder were dismissed without prejudice., 2009

Educational Background:

Graduate, Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer's College Graduate Course, 2001

Selected to attend and graduated from Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer's College in Dubois, WY, 2000

Dan Monnat:

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